Who wore number 42 in MLB?
The number 42 is the single number in the league you’ll almost never see on the field except special cases. It was the number of the famous player Jackie Robinson. According to the tradition, the league organizes the matches where all players wear the number 42 to honor his achievement.
His fate was dramatic. Robinson dealt with racism and intolerance. Robinson became the first player who broke the traditional color line of the league. Not all teams and fans welcomed him when he played for Brooklyn Dodgers. This player decided to demonstrate that black people can also play baseball too because the official propaganda considered this sport as the contest for white. His game was great and this impact helped millions of coloured people to struggle for their rights, especially in participating in sport competitions. Robinson was a unique person starring in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track.. He was so great on the field and defending human rights that MLB decided to remove this number from the circuit, not only in the Dodgers, but from the entire league.
All players who wore number 42 were grandfathered. They could use these two digits until their retirement. The separate performers proved the faith of that number. Bruce Sutter joined St. Louis Cardinals and was one of the latest players who wore 42 there. He pitched total of 122 2/3 innings for this team with an average ERA of 4.23. Sutter had five consecutive MLB All-Star appearances and up to 45 saves per season. These high achievements helped him to join the Hall of Fame in 2006 on the thirteenth attempt.
Mariano Rivera succeeded in getting the number 42 in NY Yankees in 1995. The league removed it from the circuit two years later, that’s why Rivera had to trust the fans’ expectations. His peers were emotional, corresponding the player’s hot temperament. His favourite pitch was fastball with the features of the slider. This style became iconic and his opponents, together with young talents, attempted to repeat it. His possibility to out the batters in the simple way led to the recognition from the baseball society – 100% of the voters supported his induction to the Hall of Fame.